Simple Physics
by Nigel Yearning
Summary: Tesla Adventures: A Pokemon researcher had the idea that all Pokemon can achieve complex human abilities and arithmetic, but he needed a case subject to work on. He found one.
1. Chapter I

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that were created by someone else**

**Notice: For news and updates about my stories, go to my profile**

_Chapter I_

Everyone's jaw dropped, as if they seen a ghost from some horrible monster. Their Pokémon couldn't believe it either, their eyes were as big as their trainers. Several more people came around to see what was going on, when they saw it they murmured amongst themselves and made several neutral comments. Several children took notice and wanted to get close, but their parents forced them to keep their distance. Even though there was no threat, it was too bizarre to comprehend.

Not because they were looking at a non-native Pokémon, not because it was a famous Pikachu, but it was because of its impressive feat. The Pikachu readjust its specialized eye goggles and took the last bite of an extra cheese hot pocket. When he was done, he sat back and placed a hand on his belly, letting out a cute belch in the process.

"I can't believe he ate it all." said a man.

"What happened, Bill?" said another man who was just strolling up.

"I saw the whole thing," said Bill, "I just can't believe it, George."

"What thing?"

Bill held up the receipt to the Pikachu's order, George took it and examined it, "What in the," he flabbergasted, "He ate _that _much?"

"Yeah," said Bill, "He ate it all."

_16 hot pockets to be exact_, thought Tesla, _Wow, what a meal_.

Tesla Westinghouse had done it again, and it took 20 pokédollars to do it. These hot pockets were the length of the average index card, so it was quite enjoyable for a Pikachu with a serious appetite. Normally he would hate the crowds, and warn such an audience to back off, but seeing them dumbstruck was quite enjoyable. Though there was a little bit more attention than he bargained for. He didn't feel like getting up and leave just yet, Tesla just sat there and look "cute" for his audience a while showing a soft smile and droopy eyes.

"Is that Tesla?" said a woman.

"He's wearing goggles," said Bill, "And the TV said that he left Faraday Island and came to Unova, so that should be Tesla."

"He has such an appetite, poor thing must be starving."

That made Tesla wanna laugh, but he held it in. He had the humans under his spell and he didn't wanna break it just yet. The woman reached out with her hand to try to pet him, but he just slapped it away. She quickly withdrew her hand before Tesla could touch it, "He doesn't wanna be petted."

"At least he doesn't hiss like he used to," said an older gentlemen, "I remember when he would do an ungodly hiss at anyone who try to pet him, showing his teeth in the process. He must had mellowed with old age, or there was another reason why he doesn't hiss anymore."

Tesla looked at the old man and showed his teeth, revealing tarnish-yellow enamel and missing canines, "Oh, that's why."

The old Pikachu closed his mouth and got down from the chair, "Where you going, Tesla?" said George.

_Away from you guys_. He thought.

Everyone watched as Tesla walked on his hind legs and crossed the street, on the other side was a small garden where some children were playing. They all stopped and took notice of him as he approached a tree, their parents were on alert, wondering if Tesla was going to make a move on their young ones. But no, the old Pikachu climbed up the tree's trunk and got settled on a sturdy branch, well out of reach of any human who want to pluck him up for their own purposes.

Tesla laid on his back and yawned before falling asleep, his audience soon dispersed soon after.

**. . .**

"I'm telling you," said Professor McNamara, "The Pokémon mind is quite adaptable, like a human brain."

"You can get a Pokémon to battle and learn a lot of moves," said Ron, his colleague, "But you can't get them to do highly advance complex things that requires heavy-duty thinking, like math."

"But-"

"But nothing, McNamara, but nothing!"

Ron stormed off, leaving the professor dumbstruck. Professor Edward McNamara was a Pokémon Researcher who had a degree in Neuroscience and Psychology. He was well-known for his contributions and attendances to community efforts in helping abused Pokémon and the construction of new Pokémon Centers. However, he was largely put off for his ideas that Pokémon might achieve a level of intellect and understanding around the same level of human intelligence.

Sure, Pokémon can build structures, draw expressed thought, and even do simple chores any human child can perform. But that was all _natural_, Pokémon can't do anymore than that, says the critics. And the fact that McNamara was in his early-sixties and had slight short-term memory loss didn't actually help him in proving his theories. He sighed and run a hand through his auburn hair, once again another colleague had struck him down. All McNamara can do at the moment was bounce back up and keep on going.

He went strolling through the park, a place where he goes to organize his thoughts after such a beat. Professor McNamara sat down on a bench and thought for a moment. After a few minutes of thinking, he realized what he needed.

_I need a test subject_, McNamara thought, _A Pokémon who was well trained, one that is open-minded on things and old enough to grasp the concept of many things._

"But who?" he thought out loud.

As if on cue, the professor heard a soft snore. He looked to see where it was coming from and centered up at a nearby tree, laying on the bench was a Pikachu, wearing goggles. The mouse Pokémon was napping comfortably well off the ground, though the height seemed a bit dangerous. McNamara felt déjà vu when he saw the Pikachu, and then it hit him like a truck.

Yes, this was Tesla. The famous Pikachu who held the title of winning so many battles, yet not lose a single one. His fame should had landed him in public life, a reality TV show, several movie deals as such. But no, Tesla shunned it all by leaving for life as a wild Pokémon after his trainer, Irvin Westinghouse, passed away from a heart attack. Nobody understood why.

McNamara grew up watching Tesla's famous Pokémon battles on the TV, and on one occasion in person at a Pokémon arena. The famous "Fry him, Tesla!" line still echo madly through his imagination, which got him inspired into being a Pokémon Researcher as a teenager. This unexpected encounter may fulfill that dream, he always wanted to know what Tesla was like personally.

Now he got that chance.

The professor got up and approach the tree, "Hello," he called out from underneath him, "Tesla?"

The mouse Pokémon didn't stir, he just continued to snore, too deep within dream land to respond to anything.

"Tesla, hello?"

Still no response.

"How am I going to wake him?" Professor McNamara asked himself.

Tesla groaned and shift position... And rolled off the branch. The old Pikachu quickly regain consciousness and tried frantically to grasp the branch, but he failed. Just as he start to fall, McNamara was underneath him and caught him in time. Tesla, still in shock, breathed a sigh of relief as McNamara held him up with both hands, "You alright?" Professor McNamara asked.

The mouse Pokémon simply yawned and swished his tongue around his mouth a few times, then just stared at McNamara with sleepy eyes. He was clearly annoyed, but surprisingly didn't shock the professor, "I just happened to catch you in time," said McNamara, "I'm Professor Edward McNamara, I specialized in Pokémon Neurology and Psychology. I'm an avid fan of your trainer, and you especially, during your hay day."

"Look at that," said Tesla in a strong, but slightly hoarse voice, "Another fan from my previous life. My reputation precedes me, again."

McNamara's eyes went big, "You can talk!?"

That was a surprise, he recalled Tesla was a quiet individual. But the fact that he can speak human language means-

"Yes I can talk," said Tesla, sounding irritated, "I'm just not a social creature, is all."

"How?"

"My trainer taught me, who else? Would you please put me down, there's a reason why I was up the tree in the first place."

McNamara sat Tesla down on the bench, "I need to ask you something."

"Name it."

"I have a theory that Pokémon can achieve a level of intelligence that same as a human, but every time I bring it up I get scoffed at by my peers."

"So let me guess, you want me to help you. But since you're a fan of my experience, and the fact that you figured out I can speak my mind, you also want to get to know me from my private life. Is this correct?"

That statement blew McNamara's mind, Tesla figured out what he was trying to do. That made things easier and harder at the same time, "Why yes, every word!"

"Hmph," said Tesla in a passive tone, "You're lucky I mellowed with old age. I'm just tired of throwing a temper as I used to, let alone battle other Pokémon."

"You're quite strong during those old days."

"Still am, I just don't have the energy anymore is all. Normally I would flatly refuse, but I have nothing productive to do. Might as well help you with that theory of yours, I am quite skilled in a lot of things."

McNamara couldn't believe his luck, he had struck _real _pay-dirt. He would give 15 years of his life just to meet this famous Pikachu, "Why thanks, Tesla."

"Sure thing, Ed."

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	2. Chapter II

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that were created by someone else**

**Notice: For news and updates about my stories, go to my profile**

_Chapter II_

McNamara took Tesla back to his office where he began to evaluate him. The old Pikachu took a seat at the couch and kicked back to relax. The professor remembered Tesla as the energetic Pokémon he saw on TV and in the arena during his Pokémon Battles, able to dish out serious punishment no matter how big or small his opponent may be. Now, in person, he saw a lazy Pokémon who showed little of his former self. Like he had "said", Tesla had mellowed with old age.

Obviously friendlier, though irritated, he showed no anger. Maybe he was having no stress anymore, what did his trainer have him do on a daily basis. What was it all like to him?

"Comfy?" McNamara asked.

"Sure," said Tesla, sounding a bit sarcastic, "Get me a nice hot tub and a jar full of peanut butter and I should be good for the next hour."

"So how's retirement?"

"It doesn't feel much like a retirement, more like a career change."

"A career change?"

"I spent most of my life doing something, then it all ceased. Heck, I've been in a benevolent bondage to a man I've warmed up to when I first met him. Ever since he died, I realized I was now free, yet heartbroken for a short period of time."

"Hm, okay then."

McNamara pulled out a folder filled with pictures of random ink blobs, then sat back down, "I'm going to show you some ink blobs, all you have to do is tell me what they look like to you. There's no right or wrong answer."

Tesla sat upright, "Alright."

McNamara held up the 1st ink blob picture, "What does this look like to you?"

Tesla stared at it for a few seconds, "A Butterfree on fire."

_That's a bit disturbing_, McNamara thought as he flipped to the next photo, "How about this one?"

"My cousin after he exploded."

McNamara flipped to the third photo, "This one?"

"A Goldberg machine."

The forth photo:

"A circuit board."

Fifth photo:

"Blood splatter."

Sixth:

"Mushroom cloud."

Seventh:

"A portable computer."

The final photo:

"The electric move, Thunder."

McNamara sat down the ink blob photos, "Okay, now I'm going to say to word and you tell me a word of the first thing that comes to mind associated with it."

"Yes, Professor."

McNamara mentally went through his pre-determined list, "Tree."

"Oxygen." said Tesla.

"Water."

"H2O."

"Governor."

"Leader."

"Mother."

"Caretaker."

McNamara went through other words that might fit Tesla's character, "Car."

"Road." said Tesla.

"Antenna."

"Lightning."

"Arena."

"Entertainment."

"Master."

"Rebel."

"Hate."

"Evolution."

"Love."

Tesla didn't respond right away, "Family."

McNamara wrote down some notes, "Now," he said without looking up, "Where were you born?"

"Viridian Forest," Tesla answered, "In the Kanto region."

"A wild Pokémon."

"Yeah, at least originally."

"What family were you born into?"

"A small family squad, originally consisting one elder, two parents, one uncle, one cousin, and 8 young Pichus. I was the oldest of all the Pichus."

"Your relationship with all of them?"

"I never felt such strong love before or since," Tesla laid back down and used the couch's arm to support his head, "But its all gone now."

"What was your home like?"

"A standard nest, dug underneath the root system of a thick tree. Well out of sight and out of mind from any passerby. Quite warm in the winter, cool in the summer."

McNamara wrote down more notes on his pad, "Do you remember the schedule?"

"On the weekdays: Get up, play, eat, sleep, play, eat, sleep, play, eat, and sleep. Weekends, we get up, venture off to human civilization, and piss people off. Fun times."

"You miss them?"

Tesla gave Professor McNamara a look, "You have no idea."

"Do you remember the fate of all your family before you wound up into human captivity?" McNamara asked.

"I know it well. My grandmother died from natural causes, my cousin died from a case of Overcharge, my uncle bit off more than he could chew from a power line, and the rest..." Tesla paused for a moment, "We were all taken by an organization, they had the logo 'R'."

"Team Rocket."

"Exactly. We were sold to a Pokémon Center for 100,000 pokédollars, which worth's the same as 700,000 pokédollars in today's money. It was all disguised as charity, but we all knew better. At the time, I had no voice. I was a victim to the superiority of the human race, first I sampled the dark side, then the good, then I rested right in between ever since. Me and my siblings were taken away and divided, decades past and some of them, including both our parents, died from natural causes. Those who remain heard what had become of me, thanks to Irvin, who just so happened to be a member of Team Rocket."

That surprised McNamara, "Your trainer was a member of the criminal organization?"

"Part-time," said Tesla, "But quite influential. I told him about my plight, and he did the best thing for me."

"What would that be?"

"He tracked down what happened to my family, which is how I knew their fates. He located the siblings that were still living and told them what had become of me, their reaction was tears of joy. But still, I have no knowledge of this until 20 years after Irvin died. I broke down in tears when I finally got the news."

"So what are you doing now these days?"

"I'm locating a family that I've created," Tesla shown a guilty smile, "Thanks to the breeding program. Somewhere there's a town called, Westinghouse, located somewhere in the center of Unova near a river system. I was just getting started in heading there, until you stumbled into me."

"How long have you been independent?"

"Ever since Irvin died."

"I mean, how long after you had been pardoned?"

"Several weeks, I was recovering from my surgery at a nice looking Pokémon Center. I had a bad case of heart disease, cancer, a broken rib, a punctured lung, and old age. The doctors treated me and fixed me up. Most of my system is back to a youthful state, though my osteoarthritis was somewhat cured. Not really."

"Some days, you don't feel like doing anything?"

"Nothing at all."

Professor McNamara wrote all the info down, "So Tesla, how are you at math?"

"A wizard." said Tesla.

_Excellent_. McNamara thought.

"Okay," said the professor, "Would you mind if you can do a few complex arithmetic problems?"

"I won't mind, I need to stay sharp these days."

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	3. Chapter III

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that were created by someone else**

**Notice: For news and updates about my stories, go to my profile**

_Chapter III_

It amazed McNamara that Tesla knew how to do math at all, the old Pikachu sat in the small conference room filling out another questionnaire as the professor went over the test scores in a separate room. This was the most complex math quiz McNamara could ever find, he nearly collapsed when he saw Tesla had gotten every single question right.

"This is perfect," he said to himself, "A little too perfect."

A Pokémon able to write, nothing new. But to do math, especially at this level, was something else. McNamara had no doubt that this sort of evidence would be criticized, no matter how many math problems he had Tesla do. He had watched him on a hidden camera and saw he didn't cheat, not even used a calculator to do the problems. What made his brain so special? What made Tesla special? This may hint how he was able to defeat Pokémon in battle and not losing. There were many factors that go into Pokémon battles to determine a winner, the trainer had to figure out these factors and initiate them. Their Pokémon obey their commands without question, but Tesla was a difficult one to control.

Being the most powerful Pokémon in Irvin's "Westinghouse Army", as he called it, the only disadvantage was that Tesla didn't always listen to his commands. For example, sometimes Irvin will command him to use Thunderbolt, but use Electro Ball instead. Or Quick attack instead of Iron Tail. This was highly noted by the referee, the opponent, and the spectators, it always turned out for Tesla to be the winner in the end.

How much can the mouse Pokémon get away with anyway?

For Professor McNamara to answer that question, he'll need to get inside Tesla's head and figure out how his mind was wired. And there was one machine that can do that.

He stepped back inside the conference room where Tesla was finishing up his questionnaire, he seemed calm and neutral so far, "You finished?"

"Yup." said Tesla nonchalantly as he pushed the questionnaire aside.

"Good, there's one more thing I need you to do?"

Tesla gave McNamara his full attention, the professor looked past his goggles and into the old Pikachu's eyes. Tired he may be, probably he was more bored than tired, "What would that be?"

"Would you be comfortable in doing an FMRI?"

Tesla's eyes lit up with curiousity, "A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine?"

"Yes."

_How did he know that? _McNamara thought

"I'm an electric-type Pokémon," Tesla stated, "Just to let you know. The powerful electromagnet might not be good for my red rosey cheeks, I could get the Electric Flu from the FMRI."

"I am aware of that, we can modify the machine so that we can advert any rouge electricity out of your system."

"A special ground?"

"The ground will be attached to your cheeks with simple tape, Pokémon Centers do it every time they have to scan an electric-type Pokémon in their FMRI's. You don't have to go through this, Tesla."

"Well, the world wants to know what I'm like. For the sake of those annoying fans and my friends and former rivals, let's give it a shot."

McNamara took Tesla down the hall to the other side of the building, where he led him to an FMRI machine. He helped Tesla on the platform and attached several wires to his head and chest, "Just to get a little more info, Professor?" the mouse Pokémon asked.

"Yes," said McNamara, "Now the ground."

The ground looked more like a heavy-duty stethoscope, but it was twice as thick as the regular wires and quite insulated. McNamara had Tesla lay down on the platform and taped the two electrodes to the old Pikachu's red cheeks, "I feel very reassured now." he said nonchalantly.

"There shouldn't be a problem." reassured McNamara.

"If there's any adverse affects, hopefully they would just be weird dreams."

"You think so?"

"No, it's just a guess."

McNamara strapped Tesla in and left the room, he walked into the control center next door and got on the computer and started up the machine, "Can you hear me alright, Tesla?" he spoke into a sensitive microphone.

"I can hear you just fine, sir."

Professor McNamara looked up through the window to the FMRI room and saw the platform that Tesla laid on took him to the heart of the mammoth-size machine, "Feel any changes?"

"My cheeks are tingling," said Tesla, "No ill-effects so far."

"Do you see the small screen above you?"

"I certainly do."

"I'm going to display some pictures on the screen, all you have to do is look at them and sort it all out in your mind as I read your brain activity on the computer."

"You're not going to read my thoughts, are you?"

"I'm just going to view the frequency of your thoughts, not figure them out."

"Whatever."

McNamara started the presentation, it began showing Tesla 20 photos. Half positive, the other negative. All photos range near the extreme of their designated polarity, the photos were arranged in a randomized pattern and each one would be shown for just 15 seconds. Tesla should have no problem seeing this, unless his eye goggles were off focused.

The computer projected a 3D scan of Tesla's brain, McNamara was stunned at how it looked. He had seen the scans of Pikachu brains before, but... Never this complex. Several areas of his brain were lighting up, there were more activity in several regions than those in regular Pikachu brains. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, despite the obvious design difference of Tesla's Pikachu brain. It was lighting up like a humans.

Though he did notice some areas were not lighting up, McNamara looked more closely and realized they were areas associated with empathy. They weren't lighting up, extremely unusual for a Pokémon. McNamara knew Tesla had been pardoned for murder, does this explain why he killed?

By the time the test was done several minutes later, McNamara shut down the machine and the platform pulled Tesla out and removed all the straps and wires, "How was it?" McNamara asked.

"Felt like a 1,000 page textbook was crammed into my head," said Tesla, "Some pictures I couldn't figure out."

"That's alright. Head back to my office and we'll go over the results."

"Okay, Ed."

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	4. Chapter IV

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that were created by someone else**

**Notice: For news and updates about my stories, go to my profile**

_Chapter IV_

It took a while for McNamara to gather up all the data, once he had it organized and made simple for the average person to understand the professor head straight back to his office. When he walked in, he saw Tesla sleeping on the couch. He let out soft snores as he laid on his back, a bit unusual for a Pikachu to sleep in that position.

"Tesla?" McNamara asked.

The old Pikachu stirred and opened his eyes, "Oh, you're back," he said as he sat up on the couch, "What's the results."

"You past the math test." the professor started.

"No surprise there."

"You're the only Pokémon who got all the questions right."

"Still not surprised."

"Your FMRI, questionnaire, and personality tests managed to sort you out. You're quite the intellectual, displaying complex thought at a level-"

"Equivalent to a human." Tesla finished.

"Um, right." McNamara confirmed, "No other Pokémon had ever came close to your results, however you showed little to no empathy on all three tests."

"I've already told you about Team Rocket taking me from my family, they've also taken my empathy, my dignity, and my pride. I managed to recover my pride but not my empathy or dignity, I discovered I had no use for them anymore."

"Why?"

Tesla shrugged and sighed, "They're all gone or dying, Irvin's gone, his Pokémon scattered or dead. I've seen things no Pokémon should ever see, I know some people who may never understand it all. I took it all in stride and just move on, suffering and sadness no longer feels as bad as they once had. For me, that's how life works."

"I see." commented McNamara.

"Several of my friends from Irvin's Westinghouse Army were known to have some neurological disorders. For example, his Scraggy had Schizophrenia and Parkison's Disease. I wonder which trainer is brave enough to handle such Pokémon that are unstable, amazing that Irvin ever maintained control over them. They all listen to me just fine, but they sometimes question Irvin's integrity. He doesn't always trains us for Pokémon battles, he got us doing some work that I just can't talk about."

"What kind of work?"

"Work for Team Rocket, he wasn't particularly proud of it all but I don't give a damn. I stopped caring after doing a half a dozen missions for the criminal organization. It was always a bad scene in the end."

Tesla went silent for a moment before glancing at the clock, "Am I free to leave?"

"Yes, Tesla," said McNamara, "If you need anything, give me a call."

"Indeed I will, Ed."

McNamara watched Tesla get up and left the room, he thought for a moment and wondered what an experience it had been to meet his childhood hero for the first time. But from what he had learned, Tesla didn't want fame and glory. He wanted his family, that was all he wanted. Even when he was taken away and put into an environment just as loving and caring, Tesla still wanted his family. But he can't get them back, too much time had past. It made the professor feel sorry for him.

"Robbed of his empathy," McNamara thought out loud, "Is there anything anyone can do for you, Tesla?"

He had all of his data, now he had a fighting chance to prove his theory of intelligent Pokémon once and for all. Though he'll may need more data from other test subjects, this was a good start. It would take weeks, but he'll finally get a place in science at the end. Or at least he hopes so.

**. . .**

"What an experience." Tesla said to himself as he left the University, "I don't wanna go through that again."

At least he got a lot off his chest, as much good that would do. Tesla strolled down the street and walked into the Pokémon Center, where a usual Nurse Joy was right behind the counter, "Hello, Nurse Joy." he spoke as he strolled in.

Nurse Joy's eyes were wide open, including several nearby Audinos, "You can _talk_?" she asked.

"I can. I'm just stopping by to rest, is there a spare bed I can sleep on?"

"Yes, there is. The Audinos will show you."

An Audino gestured Tesla to follow him, the old Pikachu nodded and followed the nurse's aid down a hallway to a living quarters. There were several empty rows of beds, "Pikachu Pika Pika Pika Pikachu." Tesla spoke in his Pokémon voice and language as he shook the Audino's hand, _Thank you for not freaking out back there when I spoke human._

"Audino." said the Audino, _Not a problem._

As the Audino left, Tesla climbed up on the bed and pulled the covers over him, _Oh that's nice, _Tesla thought, _A nice comfy bed to sleep on always beats trees and couches._

Tesla laid on his back and breathed out, his old frame enjoyed the softness of the bed. Years of physical abuse from his career was put aside for this moment of comfort, he felt no guilt at all, but relief.

**THE END!**


End file.
